Catalog
25 Dollars Asiatic Banking Corporation
| Issuer | Asiatic Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in orange and black on white paper, the note carries the bank's name in bold letterpress at the top centre, flanked by two oval panels each reading TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS, with the royal arms vignette at centre between them. The body of the note contains the promise-to-pay text in cursive script, with the denomination numeral 25 in large figures at the lower centre, and multilingual inscriptions in Tamil, Malay Jawi script, and Chinese running along the borders. An ornate guilloche border frames the entire design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ASIATIC BANKING CORPORATION TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS THE ASIATIC BANKING CORPORATION promise to pay the Bearer on Demand at their Branch in SINGAPORE in Local Currency the sum of TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS value received SINGAPORE By order of the Court of Directors 亞西亞國銀行 |
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| Comments |
The Asiatic Banking Corporation was chartered in London in 1863 — which makes an 1862-dated note genuinely curious. The bank issued notes in anticipation of its formal establishment, a not uncommon practice among Victorian-era colonial banks racing to establish circulation before competitors. It collapsed in 1866 during the credit crisis that brought down Overend, Gurney & Co., meaning the entire note-issuing life of the institution spans barely four years.
Survivors are rare for the obvious reason: the liquidation left most unencashed notes worthless, and few had reason to preserve them.